Markha valley trek is one of the best and most attempted treks in Ladakh region. Ladakh offers a rare mix of barren landscape and beautiful as well as unique Buddhist culture. Markha valley in summers is quite a busy trek and invites a lot of foreigners as well. Markha valley trek covers high mountain passes (15000ft+) and trails. The multicolored prayer flags welcome you as you enter the small villages of Markha valley and it is about these memories that will remain with you for life. At Wanderers we believe, there is no place as beautiful and welcoming as the beautiful Markha valley.
Markha Valley can practically be done throughout the year. Wanderers offers this trek in summers as well as in winters.
Other than Markha valley trek, some of the other treks in Ladakh region are Sham Valley Trek, Stok Kangri Trek, Kang Yatse II, Chadar Trek. Also, Kashmir Great Lakes Trek is another great choice from Kashmir region.
NEW DELHI
3 Hours Before Flight Time
Fly to Leh and reach Leh by Noon. Check into a hotel and relax. The first 2 days for any trek in Ladakh region are extremely important. These 2 days will ensure that you trek and enjoy the Markha Valley trek to the fullest. Flying into Leh brings you to an altitude of 10000 ft+. Therefore, it is of immense importance that we get ourselves acclimatized. On day 2, we can explore the market of Leh as well as go for some sightseeing (Thiksey Monastery, Leh Palace and the famous Shanti Stupa)
It is going to be an early start today (it will be so throughout the trek though) as we drive from Leh to Spituk. Wanderers team will join us at Spituk with the equipment. We trek from here and follow the trail to reach the lush Zingchan valley. The Rumbak flows into the Indus River here and a little ahead will be our Campsite.
Again, an early start today as well. We will get into the famous Hemis National Park today and climb up through a gorge and gradually making our way to the Village Rumbak. Hemis national park is home to blue sheep, red fox, the Himalayan hare and Tibetan wolf. We will camp today at the base of Ganda La which is about 14900 ft. We can view the mighty Stok range as well as the Stok Kangri from here.
Skiu is a beautiful small village (with a monastery and a school of its own) and very warm and welcoming people. Skiu will be our destination for today. The ascend to Ganda La will take a little less than 2 hours to bring us to the other side on the trail that will take us to Skiu. At the top of the pass, there is also prayer stones marked with flags. A sight which will be usually common from now on. We are now trekking along the Markha River.
This is going to be an extremely beautiful trek. Along the river when the trail goes in multiple ascends and descends, the view it offers will be beyond imagination. We will cross numerous locations with prayer stones covered with prayer flags and a wooden bridge to get to the other side of the river. Markha is a small town with about 20-25 homes here and also has its ancient monastery as well. A homestay here is a great option. Also, there will be a phone line connection here for us to call our families.
We leave Markha after breakfast. After crossing the village of Umlung, we can easily spot the mighty Kang Yatse peak and we will continue to have it in sight until we cross Kongmaru La. Once we reach, Tochuntse (13400 ft), we camp here for the night.
We will reach the Nimaling plateau from Thochuntse campsite. It sure will be a night to remember and also the last night of camping.
We will cross today the Kongmaru La (17000ft). We will have beautiful sight of the Indus Valley today. We will enter Shang Gorge. After reachin Sumdo, we drive to Leh.
Check into hotel. Relax and explore Leh.
